Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a dishwasher, and more particularly, a dish rack and dishwasher having the same. Although the present invention is suitable for a wide scope of applications, it is particularly suitable for the dish rack to be drawable from and storable in the dishwasher, enable the stored dishes to be arranged more easily, and prevent safety accident in case of being withdrawn.
Discussion of the Related Art
Generally, a dishwasher is a device for cleaning dishes by spraying water on the stored dishes at high pressure and then drying the cleaned dishes. In particular, the dishwasher works in a manner as follows. First of all, water at high pressure is sprayed into a tub having a dish stored therein. As the sprayed water touches the dish, particles (e.g., food leftovers, etc.) attached to a surface of the dish can be removed to clean the dish.
Such a dishwasher is configured to reuse the used water in a manner of filtering out food leftovers contained in the water and is also configured to separate food leftovers smoothly by supplying detergent mixed with the water. Recently, a dishwasher equipped with a function of raising a temperature of water by a heater and/or a function of raising cleaning efficiency by generating steam is popularly used.
A dishwasher of the related art consists of a case forming an exterior, a wash tub provided within the case to configure a wash space of a dish, a door located in front of the wash tub to open/close the wash tub, a drive unit provided under the wash tub to supply, collect, circulate and drain water for washing a dish, lower, upper and top spray units configured to spray water supplied by the drive unit upon the dish, and lower, upper and top racks provided between the lower, upper and top spray units inside the wash tub to be selectively loadable according to a type and/side of the dish.
In this case, a multitude of moving rollers are provided under each of the racks. And, each of the racks is provided drawable and storable in a manner of being guided by a separate guide rail provided within the wash tub.
Meanwhile, the lower rack is located adjacent to the lower spray unit. A dish in a relatively large size is seated on the lower rack. The upper rack is located adjacent to the upper spray unit. A dish in a relatively small size is seated on the upper rack. The top rack is located adjacent to the top spray unit. Eating tools (e.g., spoon, knife, etc.) in size smaller than that of a dish and cooking tools (e.g., ladle, whisk, etc.) are seated on the top rack.
Meanwhile, in order to wash a dish and the like using the dishwasher, a user opens the door of the dishwasher, draws out one of the racks in the wash tub, puts a dish on the drawn rack, pushes the drawn rack into the wash tub of the dishwasher, and then closes the door to store the dish.
Thereafter, if the dishwasher is actuated, the water is individually or simultaneously supplied to the lower, upper and top spray units according to an operation of the drive unit so that the washing of the dishes loaded into the lower, upper and top racks can proceed. Additionally, after the dish has been washed and rinsed with the water, it is heated with steam to be dried and sterilized.
Meanwhile, according to the related art, the lower, upper and top racks are configured to be drawn along guide rails by being seated on the guide rails, respectively. Hence, each of the guide rails is fixed to a sidewall within the wash tub, and a vertical position of each of the racks moving along the guide rails is in a fixed state as well.
In case of the racks of the related art, if a dish is larger than a space between the lower, upper and top racks, since a space margin of the lower/upper/top rack is insufficient, it is impossible to store the corresponding dish in the corresponding rack. In order to store a dish larger than the space between the lower, upper and top racks, one of the lower, upper and top racks is separated and the corresponding dish can be stored in the rack below the separated rack. Hence, the corresponding space may cause inconvenience for the space utilization of the rack.
Meanwhile, the rack of the related art is formed of a material having a metal frame coated with a synthetic resin. A handle for drawing the rack is provided to both sides of the rack. And, a user can draw the corresponding rack by holding the handle of the rack.
As mentioned in the foregoing description, for the drying and sterilization of a dish, it is necessary to heat the dish using such a heating means as a steam or the like. As a rack having the dish seated thereon is heated together with the heated dish. Hence, when a user draws the rack by holding a handle of the rack, since a user's skin comes into contact with the heated rack, such a contact give the user an unpleasant feeling and may cause a problem of a safety accident.